🌤️ Long-tailed tits are invading McDonald's

🎈 The balloon is, surprisingly, a long-tailed tit

I was just eating breakfast at McDonald's.
And yet—
Something round and white floated into the corner of my vision.

“...Wait, is that a long-tailed tit?”

Calm down, me. This isn't Hokkaido.
But no matter how I look at it, it's a long-tailed tit.
No, in reality, it's just a balloon though.

My brain is completely bugging out.
When you love something too much, you start seeing it everywhere.
Long-tailed tits, everywhere in the world.

📸 Here is the balloon I actually saw

🧺 The theory that long-tailed tits are invading Earth

“Aren't they birds exclusive to Hokkaido?”
—I want to hug the version of myself that thought that.

Because now, you can meet them normally at 100-yen shops.
They're in stationery stores, supermarkets,
and if you let your guard down, they're on towels and mugs too.

Before I knew it, they were by my side, and it's already become the norm.
This is it, an Earth invasion.
The future where long-tailed tits conquer the world is near.

But when you're stared at by that round body and those tiny eyes,
you can't even complain about being invaded.
If anything, I'd probably just hand them more and say, “Please, have some more.”

🐦 For those of you wondering, “What’s a long-tailed tit❓”

Long-tailed tit profile

• Name: Long-tailed tit (Shima-enaga)

• Classification: Passeriformes, Aegithalidae family

• Habitat: Hokkaido only

• Size: Body length approx. 14cm (including tail) / Weight approx. 8g

• Features:
  - In winter, they fluff up their feathers into round snowballs
  - Pure white face with black dot-like eyes and beak
  - Their chirps are "chee-chee" and "juri-juri," modest and elegant

• Nicknames: "Fairy of the snow," "Fluffy angel"

Looking at their size,
I wonder, "How do they survive the winter with such tiny bodies?"
...So, I looked it up.

Actually,they change their appearance with the seasons.

☀️ In summer, they are a bit slimmer and brownish,
❄️ In winter, they fluff up their feathers, looking just like white snowballs.
Even though they are the same bird, their look and vibe are like completely different characters.

In other words—in winter they are fluffy idols, in summer they are wild survivors.
The duality of my favorite is just too strong.

🐡 Daphnia Memo

The more you learn about what you love,
the more you see the "will to live" hidden behind the "cuteness."
I think that's probably why I end up loving them even more.

🐡 Daphnia Memo

• The world is probably seen through the filter of what we "love."

• Even if it's a decoration made by someone else, it takes the shape you want to see.

• The cute creatures that live in our minds like that
  are, for the most part, invaders that soften our hearts.

💬 Conclusion

It wasn't like I donated money or it was a special day.
A simple balloon just looked like a long-tailed tit to me.
That alone made me feel a little happy.

I think that's what "healing" is.
It's found in small misidentifications that no one else notices.

When you feel like your days are unchanging,
and there's no fun or excitement—
try changing your perspective just a little bit.
Your "loves" or new discoveries
might be hiding right there.